Faried's dunks lead Nuggets past Bulls

Bulls guard Daequan Cook lands in the courtside seats while pursuing a loose ball against the Nuggets in the second quarter Thursday night in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER – Kenneth Faried celebrated his invitation to the league's annual slam dunk contest with a series of rim-rattling, crowd-pleasing jams Thursday night when the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 128-96 win over the Bulls.

Faried finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes as the Nuggets won for the 15th time in 18 games since Jan. 1.

Wilson Chandler added 24 points in just 19 minutes as the Nuggets made quick work of a stingy Bulls team that came in yielding 91 points a game but watched Denver pour in 100 by the time the third quarter was over.

Carlos Boozer led the Bulls' starters with 18 points, and Daequan Cook had 19 points off the bench.

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